I'm very honored to be a part of PhotoPlace Gallery's upcoming exhibit, Flight. There are so many poignant works in the final selection and I'm humbled to be among this group of talented photographers. If you happen to be in or near Middlebury, Vermont between June 8th through July 1st, please stop by and check out the show!

When was the last time you had a flying dream?

Flying dreams are connected to lucid dreaming. It is not clear how or why lucid dreams occur, but the phenomenon is fascinating because it incorporates self-awareness and control, which are elements of wakefulness, into dreaming. (When I was around 12, I began having intensely realistic flying dreams – I swear I was flying! I could escape the bad guys by jumping off the rooftop and projecting myself into the troposphere!) Children have lucid dreams more frequently than adults do, which suggests that lucid dreaming might be a natural phenomena occurring in a developing brain. I miss this experience as an adult.

Within the work submitted to this exhibition, I first looked for images that prompted an immediate visceral feeling of flying – photographs that creatively expressed the joy of flight. Jurying these images was a treat in that the subject of ‘flying’ was the constant, so I was enjoyably submerged in this ethereal topic – so, thank you to those who submitted work! The consideration of the craft, concept, and execution of the photograph was simultaneous criteria for image selection. Each single image had to be strong enough to stand on it’s own, aside from thematic elements, and exemplify something of the artist’s voice. Lastly, consideration of how the images would work together when hung as a group in a gallery space was a factor – a variety of visual genre was important.

Details in some of the imagery stick with me – the glint of light through a dragonfly’s wings exposing the cellular structure that enables flight, carnival ride wind blowing the blond curls of a child away from her head, a hot air balloon sandwiched between a full moon and a desert landscape, a yellow scarf floating through the stratosphere. A hawk soars above the famed Ranchos de Taos church; Vaux swifts swoop in formation, darkening the sky. Children gather on the lawn at dusk, jumping and turning in the air, capturing the feeling of flight for just three seconds.Laura Moya